JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – For the past several months, visitors entering the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science were greeted by ripped-up carpets, chain-link fences, and fossil displays wrapped in bags.
The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science is undergoing a large-scale transformation, both repairing and renovating, in an effort to modernize its facilities.
The construction officially began in October 2025. However, this project has been in discussion since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s really, really breathtaking to finally see it happen,” said TJ Drummond, Visitor Services Manager at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science. “It’s a welcome kind of pain, you know?”
Drummond said this project truly started moving forward in 2021, when the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation funded the construction of LeFleur’s Bluff Playground, located just a stone’s throw away from the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science and the Mississippi Children’s Museum.
After the playground’s opening, Drummond continued, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science was up for reaccreditation by the American Alliance of Museums and the facility was keeping pace with other renowned museums.
“We have been around in some form or another since 1932. In this location since 2000,” Drummond explained. “And, if we want to keep pace with some of these more modern museums, we have to modernize ourselves. So, that’s kind of the seminal thought here.”
These modernizing efforts include renovating the front lobby, restrooms, rentable conference spaces, as well as an entirely new gift shop, museum staff offices, theater equipment, fresh carpeting in all areas of the museum, and a room dedicated for nursing mothers called the Nest.
Through it all, the museum’s doors have remained open; the gift shop is the only museum feature which has closed throughout the entirety of the construction process.
Additionally, much-needed repairs throughout the facility were addressed, including leaks in the ceiling.
According to Drummond, these renovations will propel the museum into the future and bring it to the level of excellence set by other museums in the Jackson area, such as the Two Mississippi Museums, Mississippi Children’s Museum, and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame & Museum.
“We wanted to make sure that this place is going to stand the test of time. It is also just going to be an incredible guest experience for our community,” Drummond said.
Drummond also teased new additions to the museum facilities, with some of them already open to the public; one of these features is the LeFleur’s Mining Company gem sluice activity.
Museum visitors can purchase a bag of sand which is poured into a sieve in running water. After sifting through the sand, participants can find a variety of items such as gemstones and fossils.
“It’s a really, really cool thing for the kids. It calls to mind the work of the California Gold Rush and things like that. It’s a water feature; it’s an activity; it’s a souvenir. It’s all kinds of stuff,” Drummond said.
Also outside the museum, a large wooden stage was built to have a designated space for live music during events.
Drummond said, although construction timelines are often subject to change, all of the above projects should be finished by the end of April 2026 as part of the museum’s “Phase One” rollout of renovations.
“We’re really proud of our partners here and they’ve made great time,” said Drummond.
“Phase Two” will begin soon and is projected for completion during summer 2026.
It mostly consists of outdoor amenities, including a treehouse play structure behind the museum, large pavilions available for reservations, a new nature trail featuring statues of native Mississippi animals which wraps into the main trails, and much-needed attention to some of the existing nature trails that stretch all the way to Mayes Lake.
“Those nature trails, they are very well-loved in the sense that they see lots of people,” Drummond described. “Also in the sense that they’ve been here a long time, too.”
As for how the ongoing construction potentially brought negative impacts on the museum, Drummond said foot traffic did not diminish as much as expected. The fact that certain projects were opened to the public as they were completed – like the sluice – as well as hosting a variety of outdoor events, people had reasons to return to the museum.
“Construction is no one’s preferable situation. I’ve certainly had folks come in and be candid with me about how they wish the museum wasn’t under construction, of course. We wish it wasn’t as well. I mean, it’s a very happy problem to have. I think the public has been very gracious with us; they seem to understand that we are under construction right now because we are building bigger and better things,” said Drummond.
The renovations are arriving at the perfect time, as the opening of LeFleur’s Bluff Playground also brought attention to the museum.
“I think we’ve seen over 600,000 guests at the playground since it opened in 2021, so that’s a lot of new eyes on this museum,” Drummond said. “We want to make sure they’re not getting something lackluster here when they see that incredibly beautiful, modern playground out front. We want them to see something really beautiful and modern here too.”
Sparking an interest in the Magnolia State’s biological diversity, especially among the youth, is a foundation for the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.
“One of our missions here is to promote outdoor play for our community. And so we like to provide lots of opportunities for kids to actually get out,” Drummond emphasized. “It’s one thing to come here and learn about Mississippi in a classroom; it is another thing to actually get out there in the weeds and play.”
“One of my favorite things about this job is just seeing the smile on kids’ faces when they come through here, and it’s nice to be able to build that up and give them something even more special,” Drummond shared.
For more information, visit the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science’s website or its social media pages, including Facebook and Instagram.
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